David Knight has been plagued by dreams his entire life, only to have all memory of them vanish when he awakens. Now the dreams are coming with more frequency, and they seem to be drawing him to the Amazon. A scientist with a PhD in ichthyology and a dedication to learning all he can about lungfish, whose existence dates back to the Devonian era, David is determined to see what the Amazon holds. His hopes seem about to be answered when Dr. Carlos Avila contacts him. It seems the Brazilian archeologist discovered the remains of a previously undiscovered species on a tributary of the Amazon, and he’d like nothing better than for David to join the expedition to see if more of the creature can be found. Of course David leaps at the opportunity and flies to Pesadelo Bay to join the mismatched team. Once there, he discovers not only does Dr. Avila have his own agenda, but a former conquest as well as a friend who’d saved his life years before are part of the team and are engaged to be married. Meanwhile, the need to sail up the Amazon to find what ... or who ... is calling him there has become more and more pressing, and David must decide which is the most important -- learning what Dr. Avila really is searching for, or finding the answer to his dreams?

Lagoon of Dreams

The doctor at the hospital discharged me with orders not to get the wound wet or put pressure on it.


The lab booked a room for me in a hostel—on the second floor, so I had no choice but to stay put, reading a stash of novels previous visitors had left behind. Kiss Tomorrow Good-Byeby Horace McCoy, Wanton by Nightby James Clayford, and a real find: Dark Passage, the David Goodis book that had been translated to the silver screen for Bogie and Bacall—and all that was left for me to do was wait for a ship that would take me to Japan, and from there sail home. And I planned to bring that book home with me.


That first night in the hostel, a houseboy brought me up a light supper. I read a few pages while I ate, but I was too uncomfortable to concentrate, so I went to bed. I hadn’t been sleeping well, due mostly to the pain in my leg, and that evening was no exception. My leg throbbed, and I didn’t expect to get much sleep, but…


Chapter 17